Families to cop it in Budget

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is a man with a plan. But do you like what's in store? Source: News Corp Australia

MIDDLE-income families will be denied rises in tax concessions compensating for inflation in the Budget two weeks from Tuesday which Prime Minister Tony Abbott tonight said would be a first installment of spending cuts.

But the Prime Minister has pledged these and other measures would clear the way for income tax cuts in five years.

The age pension will not be lowered now but Mr Abbott will seek a mandate for a reduction in the pension's indexation and tougher means testing at the 2016 election.

And the Budget will contain programs to get the disabled, the elderly and women with young children off welfare and into the workforce.

The Prime Minister called the Budget politically risky. However, the pain would be short term and necessary to hack back debt of potentially $667 billion Mr Abbott said had been left by Labor governments.

He outlined some of the Budget's measures in a Sydney speech designed to complement the warnings about runaway spending issued by Treasurer Joe Hockey last week.

Walking the talk in a fortnight's time. Joe Hockey has flagged mega austerity. Source: News Corp Australia

Mr Abbott said the objective was to reduce debt and return the Budget to surplus over at least five years but would not put a target date for balanced finances, saying it would be achieved within a decade.

"This Budget will not change everything with one stroke," Mr Abbott said.

"It won't offer a spurious guarantee of a surplus by a particular date. This Budget will by no means be the only instalment in the long-term restructuring needed to restore our economic health."

The Prime Minister pointed to changes in welfare for families, which mostly is the Family Tax Benefit A and B. Indexation of these means tested concessions was frozen under Labor but the cost of living adjustments were set to return this year.

Mr Abbott's comments indicate that won't happen.

"But the best way to help families on $100,000 a year is long-term tax relief and more business and job opportunities, not social security,'' he said in the speech.

"The change in this Budget will make personal tax cuts more likely in four or fine years' time.

"Come Budget night, I suspect that there won't be many without a potential grumble — but involving everyone in reaping Labor's spending binge is the only way to be fair.

"The Budget pain will be temporary but the economic improvement will be permanent."

Short-term pain for long-term gain, Mr Abbott says. Source: News Corp Australia

Mr Abbott said changes to the age pension was essential and unavoidable because it was rapidly becoming too expensive. But he said the Government would keep his promise not to touch the pension rate — at least in this term of office.

"To keep our commitments, there will be no changes to the pension during this term of Parliament but there should be change to indexation arrangements and eligibility thresholds in three years time," he said.

"There are other social security benefits where indexation arrangements and eligibility thresholds could be adjusted."

Mr Abbott made no reference to speculation a one-off levy could be imposed on wage earners to cover short-term expenses.

The Government has been firmly told by business it does not want a temporary levy to cover immediate bills which the Business Council of Australia fears could be a bid to "let governments off the hook on the structural steps needed to fix the budget properly".

"Temporary tax increases are no substitute for the reforms that are needed to bring spending back under control and put the budget onto a more sustainable footing," said BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott.

More is needed that temporary tax incentives, says business council chief executive Jennifer Westacott. Source: News Limited

Ms Westacott said the Budget's focus should be elimination of waste and inefficiency, and better targeted government programs and payments.

"Australia needs comprehensive tax reform implemented over the medium term, rather than ad hoc levies in this budget," she said.

"Raising Australia's already high dependence on personal income tax will place an increased burden on workers and could weigh down an already sluggish economy. If we are serious about lifting our productivity and competitiveness, we should be lowering taxes, not increasing them."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten accused the government of scaring pensioners with talk of cuts and wage earners with speculation about the deficit levy.

"Here's a couple of ideas for Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott — don't break your promises," Mr Shorten told reporters.

"Here's a couple of ideas for Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey — don't say nine times in a 32 day election period when you're chasing people's votes that they won't touch pensions, and then as soon as you get elected have twisted priorities and broken promises and introduce a new deceit tax.

"No bigger broken promise than saying to pensioners before the election that your pensions are safe, then after the election starting to scare Australia's pensioners by talking about messing around with aspects of the pension."

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‘I will go to my grave a tormented person’

John Hennessey, former Bindoon boys home resident, talks after giving evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Perth. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: News Corp Australia

John Hennessey outside the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: News Corp Australia

FOR John Hennessey being robbed of his innocence was not the most unforgivable thing he endured at the hands of the Christian Brothers – it was being robbed of the chance to have children of his own.

For five years he was brutally raped, beaten and emotionally abused by 10 brothers at Bindoon boys home during the 1940s.

Yet it was the after-effects of that abuse that he sees as being the most destructive.

The former Deputy Mayor of Campbeltown Council, who received an OBE for his role following the Granville train disaster, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sex Abuse he was so scarred by his experience at the remote Catholic boys home in WA that he was unable to form any real relationship in his later years.

The commission is investigating how the religious order and successive WA governments responded to allegations of abuse at four Christian Brothers run homes in Bindoon, Clontarf, Tardun and Casltedare.

It has heard boys were routinely tortured, raped and beaten by Christian Brothers in the four WA institutions since the 1950s.

The commission was also told child abusers at the WA Christian Brothers schools knew they could sexually torture children with impunity, safe in the knowledge the state would do nothing.

Choking back tears several times, Mr Hennessey, who was sent to Australia from the UK at just 11 as part of the child migration scheme, recounted the horrific sexual and physical abuse he suffered at the hands of the brothers – the worst of which was by Brother Paul Keaney.

The former teacher, who emigrated to Australia from Ireland, almost beat him to death after he stole grapes from his precious vineyard.

The flogging, which was carried out in front of other boys as well as brothers, was so bad Mr Hennessey developed a stutter as a result.

Brother Keaney beat him regularly with a leather strap with pennies sewn into it. He was also made to perform a range of sexual acts on the brother, which he said he later did willingly after years of abuse by other brothers.

Mr Hennessey told the hearing, Brother Keaney groomed him from the day he arrived, and had such a hold over him that he believed his abuse was a form of affection.

"Brother Keaney kept a pool of pets," he told the hearing. "At the time I didn't understand what he was doing to me. But I felt somehow privileged."

It was only after he left the home that Mr Hennessey said he realised that he had been sexually "exploited and abused by criminals".

Mr Hennessey told the commission the men who abused him during his time at St Joseph's Farm and Trade School in Bindoon felt safe in doing so.

"I was exploited and abused by criminals (who were) safe in the knowledge that the state government and church were my legal guardians, and would never bother to meet their responsibilities," he said.

Mr Hennessey also spoke of being made to being treated "like a leper" when details of his abuse was first made public in the 1970s, and was labelled a child molester and was also beaten up by vigilantes.

He was also questioned by police on a few occassions and as a result he will not have any child in his home unless their parents are with them.

He said he had thought about suicide several times, and was angry the Christian Brothers changed his identity when he arrived to prevent anyone from being able to find him.

But of all the things he was robbed of it was the chance to have children of his own.

"I regret not having children of my own," he said. "I have never had a committed relationship. I did not trust people.

"I had issues with my sexuality. I am the last one in my family. There's no little Hennesseys of my own. This is unforgivable.

"I will go to my grave a tormented person."

John Hennessey outside the Royal Commission. He holds a photo of his mother and a news clipping. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: News Corp Australia

When Mr Hennessey was first brought to Australia at age 11 he was told he would be able to ride kangaroos to school and there would be lots of fruit.

"From the time I arrived at Bindoon, there was no love," he said.

"I realised there was no kangaroos, there was no fruit."

The Christian Brothers said they wanted to make a man out of him.

"'We don't want you to grow up as Satan's children,'" Mr Hennessey said he was told.

Mr Hennessey did not see his mother for 57 years after he was forcibly removed from Bristol, England, for Australia.

The order changed his name and reduced his age by three years, making it extremely difficult to locate his mother. He eventually met her six years before she died.

Mr Hennessey eventually received about $45,000 from Redress WA, a state government scheme set up to recognise the harm suffered by children in the homes.

But he said changes to the scheme to reduce the maximum amount paid to victims to $45,000 from $80,000 left him feeling betrayed.

Mr Hennessey is one of 11 men who is giving evidence at the public hearing about their experiences at one of the four homes.

NO ONE TO TURN TO

Boys who reported sexual and physical abuse at the hands of WA Christian Brothers were often abused by the brother to whom they complained, the commission was told.

"For some boys, the knowledge of the abuse was well enough understood between the boys, if not necessarily openly discussed," counsel assisting the royal Commission Gail Furness said in her opening statement.

"Other boys never shared their experiences with anyone else. "However, common to all of those men who will give evidence is the shame, guilt and fear that they experienced as a result of the abuse."

At St Vincent's Orphanage in Clontarf, boys would be selected almost nightly by brothers for abuse, said survivor John Wells. A brother would tickle the foot of a sleeping boy as a signal to go to his room.

"The boy would often be crying because he knew what was coming and he knew he was going to be in pain," Mr Wells15 said.

He and his twin brother Arthur were so traumatised they did not physically touch for 70 years – until Mr Wells held Arthur's hand when he was on his deathbed.

Another survivor of Bindoon, Edward Delaney, had the fingers of both hands broken and was left with a permanent disfigurement when a brother - named as Brother Doyle in the commission - hit him repeatedly with a leather strap with a hacksaw blade stitched into it.

Ms Furness named around 15 brothers who brutally raped and tortured hundreds of boys while in their care.

Yet only three have ever been charged in relation to the abuse and only one, Brother Gerard Dick, was convicted.

Another brother, William Marchant, who has not been named in this case study, was charged in 2000 for sexual offences in the 1970s and 1980s at Tarden Farm School. He received a non-custodial sentence.

Over the next two weeks the commission will hear evidence on how the Christian Brothers responded to allegations of abuse.

It will also hear evidence from representatives of the WA government and the acting director of public prosecutions about the department's response to complaints.

The hearing continues.

Tony Costa says he is still angry more than 60 years after he was separated from his family. Picture Theo Fakos Source: News Limited

INQUIRY WILL BRING 'RELEASE, JUSTICE'

Forced child migrants and survivors of abuse at Christian Brothers-run residences in Western Australia say a royal commission will give them a measure of release and justice.

"We want to see justice — justice is the end word," said Tony Costa, who as a child was sent to Bindoon Boys Town in 1953, and went on to become Mayor of Subiaco.

"We don't want the next generation to suffer as we did 60 years ago."

Mr Costa, a spokesman for the International Association of Former Child Migrants, said he was still angry more than 60 years after he was separated from his family.

"One is angry but as the years go on it's like a wine — you mature," he said.

"You have to get on with life. Some poor beggars, some of my fellow survivors, have fallen along the way be it through broken marriages, alcoholism, drugs and so on.

"But each and every one of them has a story to tell and so I don't want to judge anybody harshly."

Today's hearings are the 11th case study by the royal commission examining how Australian institutions responded to child sexual abuse.

The Perth inquiry will investigate the responses of the Christian Brothers and relevant Western Australian State authorities to the abuse allegations at the residences.

It will also look at the experience of people who went through the Catholic Church's Towards Healing process, Redress WA, civil action and/or directly to the Christian Brothers for compensation or assistance.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of the Archdiocese of Perth last week wrote an open letter in which he reiterated his full support for the work of the commission.

In his letter he expressed "horror and deep shame" at what happened and asked forgiveness from those whose lives which had been badly damaged.

Mr Costa said victims had received apologies before by the British government and other institutions.

"How do you right the wrongs of 60 years ago?" he asked. "Words are cheap."

Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN) spokeswoman Carolyn Frawley said the royal commission ensures everyone will hear about what people suffered.

"With the royal commission everyone is hearing about it now," she said. "We're not down in the back blocks." Ms Frawley said she wanted laws changed to allow for a longer statute of limitations on child sexual abuse.

"For us, it's a release," she said. "When you're abused as a child it lasts with you forever. Believe me, there are some people who are so angry they can't see the daylight."

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‘Scum’ steal Anzac wreaths – again

Town of Bassendean Mayor John Gangell and RSL Eastern Regional Sub Branch president Ashley Vince at the Bassendean war memorial. Picture: Marcus Whisson Source: PerthNow

Some of the wreaths presented in Bassendean for Anzac Day. Picture: Karen Valenti Source: PerthNow

BASSENDEAN Mayor John Gangell has labelled thieves who stole 34 wreaths from the suburb's war memorial during the weekend "the scum of the earth".

Hundreds of former service members were joined by children and community members at the Anzac Day service where community groups such as the Bassendean Volunteer Fire Brigade and the Melody Club laid 35 wreaths.

Mr Gangell lamented that the theft was a repeat of last year.

"Wreaths were taken last year but it wasn't all of them — this year it looks like they decided to come back and take the lot," he said.

"I think it is disgusting and they are the scum of the earth if this is what they do for kicks."

Read the full story: In My Community

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Bashed woman’s traffic lights terror

A woman sitting in her car was bashed at traffic lights.

A woman was viciously attacked while in her car at traffic lights in Kardinya today. Picture: File image Source: News Limited

A WOMAN on her way home from a funeral has been bashed as she sat in her car at traffic lights in Kardinya this morning.

The unprovoked attack occurred about 11.30am as the 33-year-old woman, known only as Yvonne, sat at traffic lights at the intersection of North Lake Road and South Street.

The male attacker was crossing the intersection when without warning he ran towards the driver's side of Yvonne's car and grabbed her hair as she attempted to put her window up.

The man then punched Yvonne in the face, which caused her bruising and a chipped tooth.

Yvonne then drove away and the man let go of her hair and ran in a northerly direction towards the Shell service station.

Yvonne drove to a nearby business where she called police and her husband.

She bravely spoke to PerthNow over the phone today just minutes after undergoing an x-ray at Armadale Hospital where she also works as a patient care assistant.

She said while the attack lasted probably only about 10 seconds, nobody came to her aid.

She had just been to a funeral and was driving home when she was attacked.

"This guy just ran up to me and told me to 'get out of the f****g car,' " Yvonne said.

"As I've gone to put my window up he still had my hair in his hands and then he punched me, chipping my tooth.

"The thing that makes me angry is nobody helped me. In broad daylight nobody helped me.

"I had a car to my right and a car behind me and no-one helped me. It happened that fast but there was no way I was letting him in my car."

Yvonne said she was the victim of an attempted carjacking at the hands of a group of men several years ago.

She said what probably helped her in this morning's incident was having her doors locked at the time.

"From the moment I leave my driveway I lock my car doors, I always have done," she said.

She urged anyone who saw the incident or who might know the attacker to call police.

Yvonne's attacker is described as being in his early 20s, has dark skin, a slim build and black unshaved facial hair.

He was wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a black hooded zip up jacket.

There were a number of people in the area at the time and police want to speak to anyone who saw the incident.

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Perth mother sues over big baby birth

Jacob Ferrier when he was born. He weighed 5.38kgs (11.9lb) Source: Supplied

A DUNCRAIG mum has launched legal action against the Health Minister over claims her son was left disabled after she was forced to try to deliver him naturally even though he was over-sized.

Kate Ferrier's son Jacob weighed 5.38kg (11.9lb) when he was born – almost twice the size of the average Australian infant.

The 31-year-old claims Osborne Park Hospital insisted on a natural birth and only performed a caesarean section when it became an emergency.

She claims the ordeal caused hypotonic cerebral palsy in her son, a condition that decreases muscle tone and control as a result of brain damage sustained during and after birth. Ms Ferrier said when she was finally able to bring Jacob home he was like a "rag doll".

She said Jacob, now four, will need therapy for the rest of his life. He also has global development delay, which affects his intellect.

Ms Ferrier said hospital staff failed to notice signs of foetal distress during the birth.

Kate Ferrier is suing Osborne Park Hospital claiming it was negligent in its duty of care that her son Jacob was born with hypotonic cerebral palsy.

She said when her water broke there was grade-three meconium in her amniotic fluid – infant faecal matter, which is generally considered a sign of foetal distress.

She also claims medical staff induced her even though her contractions were fast, which she says made it worse. Staff only performed a c-section when it became an emergency, she said.

Ms Ferrier said Jacob was also born with swelling on the brain and was in respiratory distress because he had breathed in the meconium. He was rushed to PMH as a result.

Ms Ferrier launched legal proceedings this month against the current Health Minister Kim Hames.

The writ lodged in the WA Supreme Court says Ms Ferrier is seeking, on behalf of Jacob, damages for injury, loss and damage he sustained during his birth at the hospital in October 2009.

It says the hospital was negligent and failed to provide and/or omitted medical advice and treatment to Ms Ferrier during her antenatal care, labour and delivery as well as the neonatal management of Jacob after he was born.

Ms Ferrier said that she was worried what sort of future her son faced.

"I'm strong," she said. "I have to be. I have been lucky that my parents have helped me a lot.

"As for Jacob, we have no way of knowing if he is going to be all right as he gets older.

"At the moment he tires really quickly, and has poor muscle control and falls over frequently. He can't hold a pencil properly. He can't write properly."

A spokesman said the Health Department was unable to comment on matters before the court.

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Perth’s $2b light rail plan gets reboot

Dean Nalder said State Governments had been "too reactive" to transport issues caused by Perth's growth. Source: News Limited

NEW Transport Minister Dean Nalder has vowed to get Perth's delayed $2 billion light rail back on track – saying it may be faster and "smarter" to split the project into two parts.

In a wide-ranging interview on how to fix Perth's congestion problem, Mr Nalder said he was investigating "breaking up" the MAX Light Rail plan.

Mr Nalder said he considered the north-south route connecting Mirrabooka with the CBD a priority ahead of the proposed east-west line between Victoria Park and Nedlands.

He hopes staging the 22km scheme would allow construction of the Mirrabooka-CBD corridor to be brought forward "as much as possible" from 2019.

After six weeks in charge of the Transport portfolio, Mr Nalder also revealed:

● There will be no congestion charge for private motorists in Perth;

● He will investigate putting Perth's train stations and freeway junctions underground;

● Traffic congestion really is hurting WA's productivity;

● State Governments have been too reactive to Perth's transport problems;

● He wants a transport blueprint for Perth at five million people.

Work on the MAX scheme was supposed to start in 2016, but was pushed back by three years after the state lost its prized AAA credit rating.

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$20k hit to live in Hills ‘worth it’

Fire commissioner Wayne Gregson wants parts of WA to be declared bushfire "hazard zones" and says any increased costs to home builders would be worth it to save lives. Picture: File image Source: News Limited

FIRE Commissioner Wayne Gregson wants the power to declare parts of WA bushfire "hazard zones" – saying the increased costs it may force onto home builders is worth it to save lives.

Homes in these areas would be forced to abide by strict building codes created after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria.

Mr Gregson said it was "likely" parts of the Perth Hills would join Busselton and Margaret River as declared bushfire hazard zones, a move that could push the cost of building a home in the area up by $20,000.

The post-Black Saturday building codes see homes in vulnerable areas graded in six categories, from no risk to "flame zone" depending on the type and proximity of surrounding vegetation.

If a home in a hazard area is 100m from the tree line it will not have to comply with any additional standards.

WA architect Ian Weir, who specialises in bushfire-proof homes, said a big number of properties in the Perth Hills would fall into the top two risk categories.

That would mean all windows would have to be covered with metal mesh or bushfire shutters, no wooden decks would be allowed, and aluminium is banned.

Devastating bushfires in the Perth Hills in January destroyed 57 homes. Picture: File image

"You have to almost be thinking about designing a space shuttle, with that level of risk," Dr Weir said.

"The difficulty might be that the valuation of the property might be based on how many bedrooms and bathrooms it's got, and they might not be able to rebuild it in the flame zone to be anywhere near as big for the insured amount."

Emergency Services Minister Joe Francis said people should do the right thing and "build to a better standard".

"Obviously we need to do something. I would point out that some councils already apply building standards to new buildings in bushfire-prone areas," he said.

"I appreciate those standards do cost a little bit more but at the end of the day if you do choose to build in a bushfire prone area then obviously I think you should the right thing and build it to a better standard.

"How we get there is a matter for the consultation period."

A 2009 report of the Australian Building Codes Board estimated that the cost of complying with the bushfire building standards for a single storey home was between $11,535 and $20,885, depending on the bushfire risk rating of the area.

Insurance Council of Australia spokesman Campbell Fuller said it was the increased cost of rebuilding – not the declaration of bushfire risk itself – that would push up insurance costs.

The insurance cost of the Perth Hills fires in January, which destroyed 57 homes, is tipped to reach $15 million.

Mr Gregson said "the scale of losses in WA each summer is likely to be less" if bushfire building standards are enforced.

"The application of suitable standards will significantly reduce the impact of bushfire," he said.

Until 2012, declaring areas as bushfire hazard zones was the job of local government. Now it's unclear.

Mr Gregson said the current system was ad hoc, confusing and inconsistent.

Enforcing Australian Standard bushfire building requirements was a key recommendation of the Keelty Review into the 2011 Perth Hills bushfires.

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Man, 21, critical after club assault

A 21-year-old man is in a critical condition in Royal Perth Hospital after being assaulted outside a Perth nightclub overnight. Picture: File image Source: News Limited

A YOUNG man remains in a critical condition after being assaulted outside a Perth nightclub overnight amid a brawl involving more than a dozen men.

About 2.10am police were called to the Lost Society Nightclub on Hay St with reports

15 men were fighting in the upper bar area of the club after a woman was allegedly assaulted by another club-goer.

Security staff intervened and moved the group outside onto the footpath area.

During this time, a 30-year-old male security officer suffered lacerations after being hit on the arm with a glass bottle.

The group continued fighting outside, when the 21-year-old man was punched and knocked unconscious.

The victim was taken to Royal Perth Hospital by ambulance. Late this afternoon, he remained in a critical condition.

Anyone with any information about the incident should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Blues late show stuns Eagles

The Carlton Blues have come from behind to win a thriller against the West Coast Eagles.

Zach Tuohy celebrates the Blues' win on the final siren. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

IT SEEMED Carlton had run out of legs to end an unfortunate couple of days of untimely mishaps.

Sure, the Blues had the same number of bodies as West Coast on Etihad Stadium's turf, but the imbalance was the quality and balance of the personnel.

Like lone ruckman Robbie Warnock being eventually overwhelmed by the Eagles imposing talls Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui.

And captain Marc Murphy bereft of support in the midfield battles with most of his injured onball colleagues watching helpless from their grandstand seats.

West Coast was steadily grinding down the brave if depleted Blues, particularly at the crucial centre clearances.

Carlton players swamp captain Marc Murphy after the final siren. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

Already missing Chris Judd and Ed Curnow from the midfield group, Carlton's woes started when David Ellard pulled up sore in a calf muscle after Friday's training. And it worsened when back spasms forced Andrew Carrazzo to withdraw before the game.

That was compounded when back and hamstring issues forced rebounding defender Chris Yarran to be subbed out midway through the third quarter.

West Coast Eagles coach Adam Simpson addresses the press following his sides loss to Carlton.

But Carlton simply refused to yield to eventually pull off what could be a season-defining three-points victory against all odds.

The Blues seemed dead and buried when Eagles sub Dom Sheed stretched the lead to 22 points with a goal on the run to break 10 minutes of stalemate in the final quarter.

Low on energy but overloaded with determination, Carlton players kept coming, amazingly booting the last five goals to snatch the unlikely victory, 14.8 (92) to 12.17 (89).

Josh Kennedy celebrates a goal with West Coast teammates. Source: Getty Images

Jeff Garlett, Zac Tuohy and Lachie Henderson converted from set shots to breathe life before late replacement Dylan Buckley deadlocked the scores with a snap shot heading into time-on.

A brilliant run down the dockside wing by Murphy set free sub Troy Menzel to goal on the run to grab back the lead.

The desperate Eagles had chances to snatch it back - Scott Selwood hit the post with a shot on the run from 30m with 1.53 on the clock before Josh Kennedy's soccer kick in the goalsquare hit the bottom of the post with 56 seconds left.

It was a heart-thumping finale to a pulsating contest in which the first three quarters proved nothing, just the chance for everyone to catch their breath and reload for another half-hour of frenetic speed and rebound.

Carlton coach Mick Malthouse was not a happy man at three-quarter time. Source: Getty Images

Carlton came out chock-full of energy and a forward set-up loaded with height and strength provided by Jarrad Waite, Henderson and Levi Casboult.

And yet it was another tall Blue Warnock who started the scoreboard ticking with a left foot snap from a pack of players on the edge of the goal square inside the opening minute.

Carlton Blues coach Mick Malthouse addresses the press following his sides win over the Eagles.

When Waite slotted two goals and Robinson bagged another, the Blues had run to a 24 points lead after 12 minutes.

But West Coast regrouped and started to threaten by taking over the midfield clearances.

Luke Shuey enjoyed a damaging patch late in the first quarter. He kicked two goals and won the centre clearance that finished with Cripps' accurate set shot to give the Eagles a slender lead after a fast and furious opening term.

West Coast midfielder Matt Rosa takes a classic mark against Carlton. Source: Getty Images

That fluctuating pattern continued in the second quarter with Carlton in control early, stretching the lead to 18 points before West Coast hit back late.

Garlett set the Blues alight with a set shot after a 50m penalty and then a clever left foot snap off the outside of the boot.

Carlton's five points lead at the long break should have been greater. Casboult butchered two set shots from almost the same spot only 30m out, the first fading across goals to sail out on the full and the second hooked and failing to score on the other side of the posts.

No problems for Murphy who ran onto a handpass inside the forward 50, baulked Wellingham and then swerved past Sheppard to goal from close range in a solo run that will be on the highlights reel over the weekend.

BEST

CARLTON: Murphy, McLean, Simpson, Garlett, Walker, Gibbs.

WEST COAST: Priddis, Shuey, Cox, Selwood, Masten, Yeo

VOTES

3. Marc Murphy (Carlton)

2. Matt Priddis (West Coast)

1. Brock McLean (Carlton)

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Inquiry to hear abuse of WA boys

Former brothers and members of the Catholic Church's hierarchy are also expected to be called to give evidence throughout the inquiry. Picture: File Image Source: News Limited

BOYS as young as five were raped, tortured and emotionally abused for decades at four Christian Brother's homes in WA, a national inquiry into child sex abuse will hear on Monday.

And many of those children were sent to Australia from the UK and Malta after the war for what was supposed to be a better life.

Janette Dines, chief executive of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, revealed the harrowing details ahead of the first WA public hearing which will start on Monday.

She said the commission would this week be looking specifically into the experiences of those former residents who were sent to Castledare, Clontarf, Bindoon and Tardun orphanages from the late 1940s up until the 1960s.

"Some of these men were sent to the residences as child migrants from the UK and Malta, while others were wards of the state," she said.

"Tragically, some of the boys experienced abuse from as young as five years old and that abuse continued throughout their residency."

The details come after it emerged the Catholic order knew of the widespread abuse in WA for decades but covered it up.

A secret report, which has never been made public in full, was prepared for bosses in Rome during the 1990s and contains evidence of correspondence between Brother PA Conlon, the principal of the order in WA during the 1940s, and another brother about the possibility of "scandals".

It also contains notes written by Brother Conlon where he says there was a need to hide the complaints from "outsiders" so they "do not become aware" of the abuse.

Ms Dines told The Sunday Times since commission began, it had received more than 700 calls from people in WA want to share their experiences. As a result it had held more than 161 private sessions - and there were plans for several more.

She said the commission was also looking at other institutions, with another hearing scheduled for next month.

So far around 170 WA institutions have been reported to the commission.

It is understood 12 former residents are expected to share their stories to the commission this week.

Former brothers, members of the Catholic Church's hierarchy as well as state representatives are also expected to be called to give evidence throughout the inquiry.

Adults Surviving Child Abuse president Cathy Kezelman said she hoped this week's hearing would not only serve to bring justice to victims but also hold the Catholic Church and successive WA governments to account.

Norman Johnston, who was sent to Clontarf from the UK when he was just eight, said survivors have been waiting all their lives for the truth to be made public.

"We hope this royal commission goes a long way to getting the answers for how we were allowed to be treated so cruelly in Australia but the truth about how we got here is also essential," he said.

Mr Johnston also said survivors wanted the UK Government to set up a judicial inquiry to explain why children "were taken from their beds and trafficked to Australia".

Around 25 survivors and their families are expected to hold a vigil outside the hearing this week.

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